The Bike Connection is a fresh event held in Massa Marittima, Italy. Close to the infamous Massa Vecchia and Punta Ala locations, hundreds of kilometers of the finest single-tracks weave through the woods, up and down Tuscan mountains with sea views and, ninety percent of the time, great weather. Unfortunately for us, we stumbled into one of the soggy 10 percent periods. The weather definitely got the better of us this week, but the event still managed to bring media and manufacturers together to see, discuss, and test the latest products without the distractions of the big bike shows, halogen lights and non-existent bike trails. Here's a look at some prototypes from Formula, rolling upgrades from e*13 and seals and the 'mud scraper' from SKF.

Proto-hype with Formula and Unno

Slap a prototype sticker on something and everyone goes wild; add that to a freshly-built production Unno Dash frame and you're on to a publicity winner.

There's something brewing inside the Formula Selva chassis that we can't talk about yet, mostly because I don't really know what is inside and they weren't divulging all the details. The gold cap on the bottom-left fork leg, however, is definitely not standard. More importantly, whatever is in there will be available for you to retrofit your current fork – "aaarghh bike companies are always forcing us to buy new products..." Hold-on, did they say retro-fit? Yes, Formula are vocally opposed to the constant changing of standards and are planning to make any new technology work with their older fork chassis.

#lookslikeaguide A four-piston prototype caliper, fresh rotor design and that extra gold thingy on the bottom of the fork leg.

There are also new brake calipers on the Unno Dash, similar to ones we've spotted before on Loic Bruni's race bike. There is no official word on production plans, but the caliper is a four-piston unit that works with the current Cura lever. Formula says they want to make the most powerful brake on the market. They were also keen to point out that the current Cura is no weakling and was the only two-piston brake raced at World Cup DH's in 2017. I have just fitted a pair to a test bike so expect a review soon.

When I visited Unno two-years ago in Barcelona, their test bikes looked like a first attempt at making carbon frames in the back of their design studio, that had then been smashed down trails, scraped on rocks, modified and patched, and beaten with hammers. It turns out that is exactly what had happened to them. Even after all of that, they were still stunning to behold. But the finish on this production-ready frame is unbelievably beautiful. There are still a few framesets available from the first production run if you are quick.

The Gemini bar/stem is a separate project from Unno--a creation by one of Cero Designs' (Unno's parent company) engineers. The finish appears of equal quality to the frame and really cleans things up on the business end of the bike. Still no official word if these will make it into production, but here's to hoping.

Added length and strength for e*thirteen

E*13 seem to be rolling with the good times recently; closing the deal to have their dropper posts, cassettes, cranks, tires and wheels specced across many of YT's top-end bikes can't have been bad for business. Still, E*13 are continuing to improve their products and have added a 170mm TRS+ dropper post to the existing 125 and 150mm options.

The LG1 tires should be another great option for downhill and big wheels.

E*13 have also added a downhill casing to their tire options that have gained the LG1 Race and Plus monikers. No, that's not plus as in "plus-sized", but rather, plus as in... well I'm confused too... But I am all for new DH-casing tire options, especially in 29" diameter. The LG1 Plus is a harder and longer-lasting compound, with a real dual-ply casing and a claimed weight of 1119/1162 grams in 27.5/29 respectively. The Race version uses dual compound, super-sticky rubber and has Apex reinforcement in the sidewall, close to the kevlar bead, but with an added aramid layer to improve air retention. This version weighs in at 1158/1257 grams. If you missed it, the full press release is here.

The massive LG1R crank on the left, and an eMTB version with self-extracting crank bolts on the right.

There is something very interesting in the drivetrain pipeline that should be released at Sea Otter, but in the meantime, you will have to settle with less exciting news, like self-extracting bolts being added to their cranksets and replacement crank arms for Brose powered eMTB's in 160mm and 170mm lengths.

The outdated spacing is slowly on the way out, but there is still some way to go, I'm glad somebody said it.

SKF Seal Kits and Mud Scrapers

Mud scrapers are commonplace in the MX-world for use in bad conditions.

It has been less than ten years since bearing and sealing giants SKF got into the mountain bike suspension game. Since then they have taken over a huge share of the market and now supply OEM products for every major player. With their experience in motocross, SKF realized that, in general, mountain bikers are not as mechanically savvy as MX riders, who are more used to frequently changing oil and filters, opening up engines and gearboxes, and often changing fork seals. Many MTB riders just expect their fork to last forever and only realize they need a service when it's too late and the fork or shock's expensive shiny coating has worn off. It's a fairly simple procedure to change the fork seals and SKF want riders to do this more often. The brand offers aftermarket kits that include seals and any other disposables, such as crush washers and o-rings, for nearly every fork on the market – there are over 130 options in total. They are also working on their own tools to make this task even easier.

SKF currently produce 'mud scrapers' for MX bikes and are considering making them for mountain bike forks, shocks and droppers. The scrapers are an external addition to the seals, add relatively little to no extra friction and scrape dry mud off the stanchions. But, don't mountain bike forks already have expensive hi-tech seals? Yes, and the mud scraper is here to save them; rubber seals are soft and do a good job of preventing dust and wet mud from getting into your fork, but the biggest problem is from mud that has dried hard on to the stanchions. This dried mud is one of the fastest ways to damage and wear out seals, and muddy shuttle or chairlift days are the worst culprits. It's not something for everyone, but I think the mud scrapers could be a great addition for many riders who want a little more riding time between services.

The scrapers are fork or shock specific and are easy to wrap around the fork legs and fix with a cotter pin.

Most dumbest thing you can produce is rigid stem/bar combo. I and most of riders want to rotate/adjust my bar in stem to get up-sweep and back-sweep just like I want it. A nice name for this kind of combo would be ''The Dictator''

@SintraFreeride: Absolutely wrong.Cero designed their barstem a little earlier than Scott/Syncros but was still undercover when the other started to be drawn. Then Unno released some Instagram picture leaking their barstem a bit before Syncros released their stuff for press release of the Genius. Cero was grumpy claiming the idea was stolen but was actually imagined at the same time, just published later...The Syncros barstem (Hixon IC) has been initiated and engineered by Ruben Torenbeek where I had the chance to do the design based on his inputs.

They can be good or bad, depending on the rider. There is dirt going to accumulate under those scrapers which, after it has dried, is more likely to be driven through the fork seals rather than just fall off. Especially as you can't see the dirt until you've removed the scrapers.

@YoungGun13: I'm aware of that. My goal was to make the reader aware of other, in my opinion, better options. I didn't google for too long but there might be other companies selling similar boots that are longer and therefore more useful in today's market

New formula brakes, rotor and fork look ace.I suggest them to be more present on PB, MTBR etc. like DVO and MRP if they want to increase sales, as both fork and brakes are way underrated and much better than RS and Sram disposable commodities.

That said I read the PB review of the 35 and it said that pretty much was not stiff enough for harder ot heavier riders. I then rode the fork and it was definitely stiffer than a pike. Then I read some laboratory test from a german magazine and the 35 was just as stiff as a fox 36 quite more than pike. Wonder why such a different opinion from PB.

Couldn't agree more about the formula stuff. They don't have the presence they deserve. The selva fork is so smooth and rigid enough for me (althoigh i do feel like theyre a similar flex to the pike? Comparing 180 selva to 160 pike though) The cura brakes are fantastic. And backwards comparable cartridge for the selva fork? Thanks formula, I am interested!

I think the new knob is on the fly ramp adjustment, just my guess though!

@Whipperman: Hi, thx for the kind words. You can find our products in France trough The Race Company network (www.racecompany.fr). Or you can visit our Distributor locator on our website (goo.gl/DyP96V). Cheers!

@Whipperman: maybe their forks are great but the hubs are heavy. My 2018 Jekyll have a pair of formula hubs and the are smooth but very heavy compared to other brands. I have and old formula hub 142x12 from my 2011 Jekyll and I never how heavy was until I swapped it form a hope pro2,day and night. Overall quality is good and it feel very robust and reliable. I think the sold their stuff already in new bikes like Cannondale,

@homerjm: you are talking about an asian company called formula(tw), not the italian company. A lot of mid range bikes used to come with the formula(tw) hubs. The Formula wheels and hubs are quite light.

@rideformula: sending people to your site (1) to be sent to the distributor site (2) to be sent to an online retailer (3) is too many steps for the north american market. It may work in italy as people still rely on bike shops, but in the states, everybody is used to shop around for a deal and buy direct from the store. You have a couple of online stores carrying your stuff, but you need to get on the bigger sites, art cyclery, competitive cyclist etc... regardless without presence on the forums, people are less likely to adventure into a foreign product. I have been wanting to get the Selva for a while, but I have no idea of the support I can get, including buying your tools which i do not see anywhere online. Look at MRP and DVO for reference...

@dingus: Not the guy you replied to, but as mentioned in the article... bike park laps. Splash through some mud on the way down, get on the lift, it spends the lift ride in the hot sun and by the time you're ready to ride again it's a dry crust waiting to get scraped off by the soft seals. Not saying its a good idea... not sure, but it could be, sounds like it works in the MX world.

@ianwish: MX forks have steel fork legs, so scratching isn't that big of a deal, its just to save the wiper seals themselves. Bicycle forks have their own problems due to how soft the aluminum is. Weight!

the problem with most race oriented and italian companies (i.e. campagnolo) is they do understand "modern" business model and they fail to generate enough cash to keep with competition. They just make stuff that make sense and they would use themselves. Campy stuff last 3x as long as Sram, and they do not come out with "innovations" every 4 months. It is made for just one reason, racing and enjoy your bike (rather than just exploit the "consumers" and force them to "upgrade")...

"There is something very interesting in the drivetrain pipeline that should be released at Sea Otter" what is ment with this comment. Something interesting from e13? Or something interessting in general like 13speed xd boostbody?

with E13's stuff although not all of us love it on pinkbike from a technical standpoint they are definitely putting some of the best innovation to the sport that your average consumer can see. Whatever this drive train component could be it will be quite interesting. Also noted the only part of a drive train they have yet to make is a derailer / shifter.

I think SKF makes great products, but that scraper will hide the mud let it dry and then sandpaper your stantion, so when you do take, it off you will have a not so nice surprise.
With just the seal you can see any dirt and wipe it off, weather you use a squirrel, hamster, rat, or snot rag.
Two cents

Really Stupid comments about the seals on motorcycle forks haha, those dirt bike fork had seals that lasted years, MTB suspension is designed to be junk so you have to get ripped off by bike shops all the time servicing the stupid suspension haha

So in muddy conditions:why hasn't a chain guide manufacturer thought of adding a chain cleaning/re-lubing system to the guide upper to reduce chain wear? Why hasn't brake manufactures innovated a simple guard to stop the mud from entering the brake calliper to stop excessive wear on pads/poor performance? Why is there not a tyre brush fitted to rear triangles/forks to scrape away the thick gloopy mud from the tyres to increase grip when it counts most?

The answer: Because we love mud? It gives us a reason to care and maintain what we've paid our hard earned cash on and appreciate it? Because the manufacturers want our parts to wear rapidly to increase their turnover?

Dear SKFIts just another gimmick that will in reality cause more friction & user and maintenance. The current SKF generation seals fitted by Rockshox, Fox, Ohlins (pardon me Swedes out there for the lack of the two dots) are pretty much perfect at halting dirt/water ingress into the lower legs unless some numpty uses a jet wash that is! Keep making high quality seals but the scraper...maybe for the rear shock. Maybe.

I am not sure i can agree with some of the comments on here about how sexy / good looking this particular Unno is....

The only bit that is even remotely nice is the head tube area. The rest of it looks awful - seat stay to head tube webbed reinforcement, rear triangle assembly - all barf inducing. The linkage is beautifully machined but still, fussy and out of place with the rest of the bike.

I do like their DH bike - it is stunning. The inboard brake caliper mounting is also visionary.

It appears you may be an outlier based on downvotes,but I agree completely. The DH bike is ridiculous and gorgeous, but I find the frame featured here to be much more harsh looking. No idea about ride, just totally based on looks.

when it comes to unno, they truly know how to make a hideous bike, it just looks disgusting and vulgar, like a bike designed purely for dentists and lawyers to show off their affluence, much like pinarello, then again i'm not a fan of carbon.